It's getting crowded and expensive.

We are in Lisbon now. It’s crazy busy

Changes: I like to just wander and find a nice restaurant, but last year I had to reserve some restaurants, even in the smaller cities, to be able to eat there the next evening. For our trip this year, I’ve reserved several restaurants on-line already.

I always book all of our lodging several months in advance. A new attendee at our monthly local travel meeting planned to reserve lodging for a trip coming soon just a day or two ahead. We advised her to check availability because the inventory for the popular RS smaller locations is going quickly.

I read an article a week or so ago that the south coast of Iceland is booked solid for July and August. Thank goodness we are headed north, and after that the only few days in the south coast area, we booked months ago!

Well I can almost guarantee that Poland, the Baltics, Slovakia, and maybe Romania aren't going to be suffering from this problem. I know for sure Poland's tourist numbers are actually trending downward, I assume due to an irrational fear of the neighboring war in Ukraine. It's the best time to visit Poland imo.

@mango.tree - wow how silly of them, one only needs to glance at a map to see how faulty their logic is, Italy and Greece are both about the same distance from Ukraine.

The last thing Russia wants to do is attack or further provoke the west, Nato has escalation dominance over them, the russkies can't compete even if they wanted to.

The sad part is that these neighboring countries, like Poland or the Baltics, are the ones most helping out Ukraine, and her people, the least we could do is reward them with our tourism dollars and not punish them with our ignorance.

I'm headed to Poland this summer and I don't expect it to be crowded (unfortunately) or expensive (fortunately).

Here's some data on aid to Ukraine as a percentage of GDP by Country in the last year - https://www.statista.com/statistics/1303450/bilateral-aid-to-ukraine-in-a-percent-of-donor-gdp/

I think the only travelers who won't go to Poland because it's dangerous are Americans who don't understand where Poland and Ukraine are.

I do recommend reservations for any fancier or more formal restaurants, in Munich and Salzburg I couldn't get into a couple of them because I didn't have my reservations. Lots of tour groups from Asia and India as well. I can only imagine summer will be very crowded in Europe.

I’ve always planned my trips well in advanced and reserved accommodations months before I leave. But I’m not crazy about having to reserve times for specific sights in advance. I’d rather base my decision on what the weather is like and what I’m in the mood for on a particular day. However, I have accepted the reality that the big sights require reservations now.

What I really hate is making restaurant reservations in advance. Once in a while for a special place is okay. But the vast majority of the time I prefer to eat when I’m hungry in a place that I come across on the spur of the moment. I will try to adapt as best I can, but will probably do more and more casual takeout and forgo restaurant meals. Luckily, we are happy with that solution most of the time.

We are in London now and it isn’t Crazy crowded, but we were talking to the manager at our hotel (Hilton Doubletree west end) and she said the were at 100% capacity this weekend. Business travelers are also back.
But Paris was a different story. The Moulin Rouge was completely booked and we could only get a reservation at the Jules Verne restaurant at the Eiffel Tower for 12:45 in the afternoon and we booked a month before. The Louvre was Crazy crowded so much so that after our Paris Walks tour we didn’t stay on to see more, we left the museum.

What I don’t understand is, here in London on Regent and Bond street, people are waiting in line to get into stores like Gucci, Channel, Dior, Cartier, etc. If I was planning on spending the kind of money they charge for items I would not štand in line. I would want to be given a seat and a ćup of tea while I waited for a sales assistant. Good thing I don’t shop in those stores, lol.

BTW, I highly recommend traveling to Poland. We went in 2018 and it was one of our best trips. I would return but this year our travel plans are all set.

@Heather - don’t Poland and Ukraine share a border ? Wasn’t part of Ukraine once part of Poland ?

The days of unplanned travel are over for us with regard to lodging. We’ll still play it be ear when it comes to getting into places since very few are “must see” sights.

Frank II, it's become totally unbearably crowded and way too expensive to be practical. Time for everyone to stay home! (except me).

But it will be interesting to see how the next 6 months play out. Could continue growing or it could be a front end surge in response to all the press. Might just return to pre-pandemic or might be up 5% over that. If anyone knows they arent taking because I cant find any predictions.

I noticed last trip that my beer had gone up to 500ft and my wine had gone up to 1.500ft a glass. Outrageous.

2023 will still not be at pre-pandemic levels (according to the predictions). Just wait until 2024-2025.

Good old capitalism supply-and-demand.

Carlos, we've got Poland penciled-in for 2024. I'm not going anywhere near Paris or London, etc.

After 2 years of COVID shutdowns, travelers are indeed back to traveling. And the supply and demand has increased the price of accommodations in the larger cities to more than we wish to pay.

Future trips will be to smaller cities (farther east) and places that are priced reasonably. Thankfully we've been to most of the larger cities in Europe 3=4 times or even more--and we don't have to return.

There are some bargain countries and cities out there to visit, however.

BigMikeWestByGodVirginia; thats what I had been reading too. There are two explinations for the reports. 1) The sensationalized reporting has changed perception or 2) there is a front end bubble going through the system; also possibly because of the sensationalized reporting. My favorite was a few articles that warned tourists that the dollar had lost 15% against the Euro so far this year. Sounds terrible, when actualy it takes things back to where they were before the pandemic, basically the last time most people traveled; so no change. Predictions are as good as weather forecasts, so I say we wait and see what happens. Could be real, could be hype to sell web advertising. Time will tell. And Ive got more important things to worry about (like the price of my wine).

And David, you nailed it.

Just to see the range

{" I assume due to an irrational fear of the neighboring war in Ukraine. It's the best time to visit Poland imo."

I would eagerly return to Poland this year, despite the war. I haven't seen Warsaw or Krakow yet, and I plan to see both as soon as I can. My last visit there was fantastic and I'd like to see more of the country.

@Heather - don’t Poland and Ukraine share a border?

They do, but as long as you stay away from the border area, I would not worry about a trip to Poland.

Wasn’t part of Ukraine once part of Poland?

Yes, the borders have moved a lot in that part of the world in the last century. Before the second world war Lviv was in Poland, and before that it was part of Austria-Hungary.

@Heather - don’t Poland and Ukraine share a border?

And so do Slovakia and Hungary and Romania and Moldova. So that rules out Budapest, Bucharest, Bratislava; essentially all the "B" capitals except Berlin.

But Berlin is only about 300 miles from the nearest Russian border .......... so maybe .......... Then Finland, Lativa, Estonia, Lituania, and Poland all share a border with Russia so that rules them out. And Istanbul is only about 300 miles from things going boom in Crimea. (NYC is about 300 miles for Buffalo, NY)

Interesing little fact, if you lay a map of Texas over a map of Ukraine the distance from east to west is almost idnetical.

And Ive got more important things to worry about (like the price of my
wine).

In Sorrento and Rome, we found the cost of restaurant food to be reasonable at about €12-15 for a pasta dish, but booze seems to be the money-maker. Beer and wine was €7-12, even a coke was running €5-7. It's been a few years since I've been to Italy, but I think I remember it being far less. We stopped for a nightcap at one hotel and my wife paid €15 for a rum and coke, €8 fit the rum and €7 for the coke.

Dale and Todd, I very much respect your viewpoints, but we see it as supporting the local Polish people, and also paying homage to those who passed at Auschwitz. A good part of our money goes to small stores and B&Bs. I have no qualms about that. Also, Poland has been hugely supportive of Ukraine and NATO during this time of crises.

Mister E., I appreciate those geography facts. Interesting.

People are traveling again. Plan early. Don't get left out.

Now that it is May, there really is no more “planning early” for travel this summer. Autumn, however, is a great time to travel in Europe!

And it is not just Europe.
I am going to the NE USA in August, and the sticker shock is real on the coast. Glad I booked in January-February, but still not a huge fan of paying $200-300/night for places that would cost $120-200 at home. And I've seen $500 rooms at Holiday Inn in Portland, Maine?!?

Continental, you are right. May is a little late to find deals for summer travel. We make our reservations nearly 8-12 months in advance and it has never failed us from a financial perspective. If I were to make those same reservations now we would pay $1,000 or more easily.

Balso, for the fun of it I looked at VRBOs in New England and they're pretty much sold out for the summer. It seems travel revenge is going full steam ahead.

Continental--I agree, we went last fall as sell as December.

Balto--Same with the PNW. Places here in the summer are insanely priced and it feels like the entire US is congregating here.

This has me concerned as I was going to spend the summer looking at smaller cities and towns where I may want to settle down. Mostly in the USA but some are also popular tourist areas.

So, I've come up with an idea.....if any of you who are traveling need a house sitter, I'm available. No charge. :)

I’m in Paris for the first time and to me, it feels a bit less crowded than it could be and probably will be this summer. ET is packed today which is probably normal and I haven’t been to Louvre or big local ones yes. But I did go the Galleries Lafayette to check out the stained glass and can corroborate that luxury good stores had lines waiting to just get in them let it’s almost shopping by appointment.

The Louis Vuitton store in Budapest last week had a line out the door. And it was raining.

So, I've come up with an idea.....if any of you who are traveling need a house sitter, I'm available. No charge. :)
If you are willing to sit pets, then this is a thriving resource for free accommodation anywhere. Trusted Housesitters is one estsblished comoany that supports both sitter and host. You do need to develop a bit of a CV, but it is a thriving concept. If weather doesn't matter, you may find long stays during winter when all the Snowbirds head south.

For US dollar earners, dollar falling against the Euro doesn't help. Read recently that some enormous international transactions lately have been in Yuan when previously they would have been USD.

Hopefully USD holds somewhat steady the rest of the year!

So, I've come up with an idea.....if any of you who are traveling need a house sitter, I'm available. No charge. :)

Lets talk! We have 5 weeks away in September/October. Portland area. You could go to the local Rick Steves travel meeting. And I could throw in a college football tailgate & game ticket! Dogs may or may not be included

MariaF, you mean someone will pay me to sit in my house while I am gone? Excellent. I will look them up.

Hank, the dollar is falling to about where it was pre-COVID and about where it stayed for years pre-COVID. So, it’s sort of a neutral impact since most haven’t traveled since pre-COVID. But makes for a good news story.

Periscope, if the seats are empty the fares will come down. Wait. I just checked on my return to Europe in mid-September and the rates were about the same I paid last year at the same time. But interesting, when I looked a bit further out into October, when rates should be lower, they went up. I think it means the airlines are discounting the flights in the near future because demand hasn’t been proven yet. The concept of buying as early as you can may not work this year.

Frank II, word is Louie V. discounted the $3000 purses 5%. How long did you have to wait in line?

Allan, I can still get a beer for about $2 and a decent glass of wine for no more than $4 in Budapest and I can still have a decent lunch for under $10, but prices have gone up and worse in Hungary than a lot of places.

BigMikeWestByGodVirginia, there is a trick in that geography lesson that I am surprised no one commented on.

*MariaF, you mean someone will pay me to sit in my house while I am gone? Excellent. I will look them up. * not quite. They will provide a list of host looking for house and pet sitters and you can get free room. Sometimes, for long stays, you may need to pay utilities, but a lot cheaper than a hotel. However, pets need care so away travel is limited. And reverse...free room for keeping Mutt and Kitties happy....or the house looking lived in.
Older women with very little travel budget find this a great enhancement, some couples and solos do this full time.
Keep in mind that you may have to tell some falsehood if entering a country to do this. It is considered 'work' by a number of countries thus requiring a work permit. Canada is one such country. There is an amount of communication between host and sitter, and as such friendships may be made. So 'visiting friends' allows some to sleep easy at night.

One can't help the likelihood that Europe is going to be crowded this summer, which is prime time for my trip.

Re: the trains.... I don't like crowded trains, obviously, with luggage in tow. A seat reservation, be it in 1st or 2nd class, makes hardly any difference if that particular coach is so crowded. Only your seat is guaranteed.

Hotel expenses are another thing relative to the Euro/dollar exchange. From parity some months ago now to $1.09 to the Euro is still acceptable, depending on its buying power. I expect most of the big cities I'll be going to (Paris, Vienna, Berlin, Kiel, etc) will have a dramatic increase in the single room rate, but all depends on the specific month in the summer. May is more pricey than August, when rates in Austria and Germany are lower, if that is a feature of the particular hotel, ie, you trade price for the August heat.

I don't expect the lesser traveled towns in Germany or France to have expensive hotel prices. A lot of those towns are on this itinerary. See towns and cities totally off the travel radar of international visitors, you might find hotel prices reasonable or even cheap.

We were in Sicily in late April last year on a RS a tour and things were not bad as far as crowds are concerned. A fellow member from that tour is in Sicily again and she said the crowds are insane compared to last year. Be prepared.

Two days ago, we took an RE train from Berlin to Potsdam. It was the most crowded train I've been on in Germany (not counting night trains in Munich when Oktoberfest closes). There's a spring fest just west of Potsdam, and a nice, sunny day, so I attributed it to that.

This morning we rode an S bahn to Berlin Hbf (not crowded at all) then an EC train from Berlin to Dresden. I never cared about reserved seats. Today I was glad I had them. The train was packed. It seemed many never found seats together.

We were in Germany for 2 weeks in April. Nothing felt crowded at all, not even Rothenburg! The weather was not great, that might have helped keep crowds low.

If y’all want inexpensive and not crowded and easy English communication, you need to be in Albania with me right now - before July high season hits on the coast. Oh, wait. Maybe not - then it might not be uncrowded…..

We were in Germany for 2 weeks in April. Nothing felt crowded at all,
not even Rothenburg!

Italy first and foremost, and then popular destinations in France, seem like the most crowded in recent times? Those seem like the places that people have really been gravitating in the past 10 years.

I wonder what made Italy blow up as a tourist destination. It was always crowded, but now it's just silly ....

And I've seen $500 rooms at Holiday Inn in Portland, Maine?!?

Welcome to summer in Maine. That Holiday Inn at best is a 2.5* property. You are paying for great summer weather.

May is a little late to find deals for summer travel. We make our reservations nearly 8-12 months in advance and it has never failed us from a financial perspective. If I were to make those same reservations now we would pay $1,000 or more easily.

I don’t doubt that for a second. Planning early is vital to one’s wallet!

We were just in Paris and it was very busy and expensive! I still loved it but our time in the Loire valley was so refreshing-much cheaper and quieter. And that was April, which I thought would be low-travel season. We would never go in the summer, but I think we'll shift back to fall travel. Only went this time bc flight credit was expiring.

It's def time to explore smaller cities and rural regions!

"It seemed many never found seats together." How often have I encountered that? You just stand in the area of the WC and you won't be the only one.

Taking the train back from Leipzig Hbf to Berlin some years ago pre-pandemic, the ICE coach I popped into had every seat taken, which meant I stood along with others, all locals, save one tourist/visitor, packed together in the WC area. Luckily, the area was a bit spacious. The longest I stood like that was ca. 2 hrs....pretty tedious. I will expect likewise this summer in Germany.

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Interesting - last year I booked a few hotels in advance - when I knew the date we were flying but 80% of our Balkans trip was only booked a few days out.

This year we're travelling Boston and Canada - nightmare stuff - struggling to get bookings in Banff and Tofino now for September! And we're talking nothing with a roof on for under $200 /night - inc hostels.

Very much feel this will be our last north american trip and will focus on other places including Europe next year.

Checking the hotel prices in Paris for May, I see the hotel prices are not only expensive but have skyrocketed, even in the 10th Arrond. They seem to be lower in June and July, with more evidence of that in July. Basically pretty shocking for May, made me change my plans on when to be in Paris , ie, in early July relative to the exorbitant hotel prices.

Banff. That's a funny word. It sounds like the first word my baby said all those year ago.

Banff is always quite pricey. I think the area's Canadian national park status limits the number of accommodations.

Well worth it though. There are mountains that equal those Canadian Rockies, but can't argue any exceed them for beauty.

Banff. That's a funny word. It sounds like the first word my baby said all those year ago.

My friends and I always say, "Ban-fuh-fuh" because of the additional "f."

I grew up visiting Banff regularly, and, even now, go at least once a year, as it's only an hour drive from my place. It's definitely a victim of its own popularity and beauty.

After not traveling for 20+ years, I headed off to Italy in March 2022. We had Piazza San Marco in Venice, many rooms in the Vatican museums, the Spanish Steps, even the Trevi Fountain to ourselves. We had zero crowds in Cinque Terre! One day we shared the beach with 2 people. I kept telling my girls "You'll never see it like this again-- most people never will, so soak it up."

I was able to parlay the cc points and multiple rounds of EU 261 compensation into a couple more budget trips- September 2022, November/Dec 2022, and I tagged along on my husband's work trip this March. The crowds have been steadily growing each time. How can I complain when I'm going those places myself?

I've been helping family plan their trips and I keep saying "Book now and don't go if crowds will ruin it for you". You're confirming my feelings on that. (I saw several frenzied posts from Naples/Capri/Amalfi about ports being closed, busses delayed, people stranded, ferries canceled... Those are all places I would love to be, but I'm not up for that level of crazy.)

Sleight, you just need to embrace the crowds and the excitement (and odors) they bring.

We just came back from two weeks in Bulgaria and Romania. VERY FEW tourists!! They are fascinating countries with lots of history and culture and natural beauty. To really appreciate them, use Daniel Gheorghita of Covinnus Travel, https://covinnus.com/. He was an exceptional guide, with extensive knowledge of the country but also patient, accommodating, and easy to talk with. Rick Steves used him, too!

Just a quick data point that touring across Brittany, Normandy, Belgium and the Netherlands the only mobbed place was St. Malo. Everywhere else not too busy. Even Bruge. I've been booking hotels online same day at or after lunch time no problem.

Yesterday evening though I did book ahead for today in Oudenaarde. A quick scan showed north and south Holland low availability outside of big city cores I wasn't interested in visiting/staying.

Expensive? Hasn't seemed to terrible, normal recent inflation pricing.

I do miss the days of slapping one euro down on a street-facing Gelateria counter for one small scoop. Feels like just 3 or 4 years back that was a norm. Now it seems like 3 euro or more for a single. Bigger serving usually, but I liked the little scoop on a slim cone!